Geek Girl Con shines the bat signal for support

Non-profit pop culture convention asks the Washington geek and nerd community to help them overcome its financial issues that put the 2026 convention in danger.

By Karla Pastrana

The small convention known as Geek Girl Con (GGC) sent an email on May 6 to its annual convention attendees and posted on their official Instagram, revealing the convention is facing major financial issues which may prevent it from continuing in 2026. 

GGC is a small two-day convention that is turning 15-years-old and has been occurring annually at the Washington Convention Center in downtown Seattle since 2011.  

The convention is a non-profit organization made up entirely of volunteers that aims to empower women in STEM and the pop culture while also creating a safe place for fellow geeks and nerds to be themselves and meet others like them. Although the convention’s main target audience are females, it welcomes everyone no matter their gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality or income level. The convention became a well-loved event that many look forward to each year, which caused it to grow bigger since it first experienced a sold-out convention in 2014 with 5,7000 attendees. 

However, that growing fanbase has slowed down and dropped since the Covid-19 pandemic caused the convention to be virtual for two years. It later returned in 2022 as a one-day event instead of two days. 

Since 2020 the convention has faced financial deficit and has been looking for many ways to save money. In addition, the board found that GGC 2026 may not happen or may not be of the same magnitude as past events. 

In an interview with The Ledger, GGC boarder member and treasurer Mary Kimball explained that the board had considered the possibility of the 2026 event not happening for the last couple of years since the board’s event planning looks one to two years ahead of time. Once they finalized the venue rental of GGC 2025 is when it became clear that the possibility was quickly becoming a reality.  

Kimball and the board are working to prevent the cancellation of the event. One of the potential solutions was to move from the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle to a smaller and cheaper venue. Some of the venues they looked at were the Lynnwood Convention Center and event centers in UW Seattle, but none of those locations offered what the convention strives for, which is accessibility. 

“We would save money in some aspects but in others we wouldn’t,” Kimball said. “GGC has specific needs. We want to be apart of the Seattle pop culture and art scene. We want access to transportation. We want to give the spotlight to people who are under represented. The Washington Convention Center is the only place that gives us all those things.”  

The convention’s size would also shrink just for minimal savings if it was moved. This led the President of the Board of GGC Hadeel Jeanne to announce that the convention would stay in downtown Seattle due to how accessible the location is, the culture of the area and the large amount of transport available, according to an official blog post on GGC’s website. 

“However, keeping it downtown does come with a high sunk cost. Every year, venue costs alone account for about 60% of our budget,” Jeanne wrote.  

Just like many places, inflation has negatively impacted the price of venue rental in Seattle. The state’s main convention center didn’t escape this crisis. Even with GGC working closely with the convention center, the board wasn’t able to avoid inflation, according to Kimball.  

A combination of inflation increasing venue prices and the drop in attendees have impacted GGC’s net revenue, according to Jeanne’s blog post. In 2019, GGC revenue was $280,796 which covered the expenses of $238,829, making 2019’s net income $49,544. GGC 2019 was marked as one the biggest one in both net income and in size, something the convention hasn’t seen in the last four years. GGC 2020 which was held online had a revenue of $39,788, making it difficult to cover the $48,890 in expenses and leading to a net income of -$9,102, with the following year witnessing a similar trend. 

With in-person events being reactivated again in 2022, the convention was able to take a breather as its revenue was $162,696, giving the event the necessary funding to pay the $134,307 and claiming a net income of $28,389. However, the GGC Board stated in their blog post that this was possible thanks to the Washington state giving them a $59,000 grant from the state’s Covid relief program. Without it the net income would’ve been -$30,611. The convention hasn’t received any more grants, making it difficult to reach high amounts in revenue that easily covered expenses for the past two years.  

As of 2023, revenue has stayed in the 1000s just like expenses have stayed steady in the 2000s, meanwhile net income has dropped to the –6000s, causing GGC to hit red numbers. This means they are spending more money than they earn. 

GGC 2025 is operating with $240,212 in expenses, while $152,885 has gone to rent the venue for the two days and an additional $9,548 in operating expenses. While 119 for program costs that cover travel for guests and supplies to build the event or for the community to use during the convention and printing. In addition, many pop culture and industry guests require organizations and institutes to pay for their appearance.  

All the purchases also have fees and taxes while some of them even require insurance, especially for renting a venue for an event. The City of Seattle requires all events to have General Liability insurance coverage. Adding all those elements up, the total cost of fees, taxes and insurance came to $240,212.  

“In the upcoming months, we’re going to be putting a lot of work into raising money so we can continue to put on our amazing show. In addition to the $50,000 in corporate sponsorship and grants, we’re also aiming to raise $25,000 in individual giving, plus sell an additional 400 passes to our 2025 convention,” Jeanne stated in the blog.  

GGC has also committed to not increasing the ticket prices for the convention as it would go against their mission of making the convention accessible. Just last year, they had to increase their tickets from $30 for a one-day ticket to $45 and $45 for a two-day ticket to $75. The board refuses to do that again and highly encourages those who wish to attend but who can’t afford to apply for a ticket scholarship as they will still be available for those going through financial issues. 

Jeanne stated that the board will be adding a dedicated sponsorship and grants manager to the team to help increase corporate sponsorship and grant revenue by $50,000 this year. To ensure that ticket prices won’t increase and save the event, they are planning fundraising events, negotiating rates with vendors and contractors and continuing their CD investment strategy with remaining cash reserves.  

They also plan to reduce the convention’s monthly operating costs and footprint to reduce venue costs, then recruit more volunteer staff to help manage the convention. They are asking and encouraging the community to help them financially by donating to GGC’s donation tab or buying tickets to attend GGC 2025 or purchase 2024’s GGC merchandise. People can also financially support GGC by sponsoring the convention. 

“Since the announcement, we saw a over a thousand in donations. People have been buying or upgrading their tickets, submitting volunteer applications and more. The beauty of GGC’s success this year will lie on the community,” Kimball said.  

The massive wave of support has left board members like Kimball and Jeanne hopeful for GGC 2026. 

“Geek Girl Con is powered entirely by volunteers. Every single dollar we receive — from donations, passes, merch, or partnerships — goes directly into putting on the convention and supporting the organization. There’s no corporate machine here — just passionate geeks working to keep this community alive. We believe Geek Girl Con is more than just a convention. It’s a home for those who’ve felt left out elsewhere. It’s a celebration of inclusivity, creativity, and geek joy. If that matters to you, we’re asking you to stand with us,” Jeanne wrote in an email to annual attendees on May 6.  

If you wish to help the GGC, you can also attend year-round community events that can be found on their social media accounts or become either a individual or corporate sponsor. You can also donate to the GGC’s GiveBIG campaign.